


Cake

by SideDoor



Category: THE iDOLM@STER
Genre: Alternate Title: Kyoji's Gay Awakening, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Falling In Love, Flustered, Gay, M/M, Role Reversal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-24
Updated: 2018-06-24
Packaged: 2019-05-27 18:02:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,689
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15030242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SideDoor/pseuds/SideDoor
Summary: Kyoji did not expect to fall for Minori. Kyoji, furthermore, did not expect to fall for Minori at a children's museum playing grocery.





	Cake

**Author's Note:**

  * For [makkuru](https://archiveofourown.org/users/makkuru/gifts), [frootloops](https://archiveofourown.org/users/frootloops/gifts).



"Kyoji - Minori and me the cashiers now!"

"Pierre, I think we are a bit old for this," Kyoji reasoned, eyes wandering about.

"I do not see a problem in having a bit of fun, Kyoji. Besides, Pierre is set on playing, regardless of whether we sit out," Minori replied. He gave the skeptical idol a small smile in the hopes of persuading the third member of their trio.

"No one else here, too, Kyoji!" Pierre exclaimed, rushing up to the woman stationed at the entrance to the child-sized replica of a grocery store.

While the members of Beit had been set on vacationing during their one week free of all idol duties, the elder two had to take into account Pierre, who would not find the same enjoyment in botanical gardens and saunas, as would Kyoji and Minori. In response, they found themselves entertained with an amusement part and, currently, their final destination before their trip came to a close: the Okogi Children's Museum.

Children far younger than Pierre ran about, tripping over their own feet and laughing as they rushed from exhibit to exhibit. Their trio was clearly the oldest group there; but Pierre seemed to be more than enjoying himself, and that was enough reason to remain.

Minori rested a hand on Kyoji's shoulder before his attention returned to Pierre.

"You don't have to partake if you do not want to. But I know Pierre would appreciate it, and I believe it would be enjoyable for you to be there."

The woman at the entrance to the grocery exhibit was giving Pierre a skeptical glare, but they both knew Pierre wouldn't take no for an answer - and after another round of begging, the woman relented.

"Guys, come! Aihara said okay!" their youngest member called.

Minori dropped his hand, and Kyoji was stunned to find he missed the contact.

"Are you coming?" Minori asked, ending his sentence with a smile.

Kyoji would berate himself later over how easily that smile transfixed him, freezing up his own mouth. He could only mumble a quiet "Sure," out.

And then Minori's eyes lit up, and Kyoji flushed, heat rushing to his face and chest going aflame. His heart skipped a beat; and for a moment, he thought that with the gelatin-like feeling invading his legs, perhaps he was going to faint.

"Great!"

He expected his legs to have locked up because he was floored - internally, at least - by the excitement brimming out of Minori's simple expression; but the brunette grabbed for his hand, tugging him along, and his legs dutifully followed.

Pierre suddenly gasped, ripping Kyoji out of his own mind. He would gladly use that anchor to pull himself out because he was surely drowning in his own fluttering emotions.

"Kyoji's joining, too!?" Pierre asked, incredulously.

Minori inclined his head in response; and then Pierre was running up beside Kyoji, grabbing at his other hand and pulling them along more forcefully, a child-like skip in his step.

"I think he was enthralled by the prospect of one of us being the cashier. It's a rather fun role reversal." Minori accentuated the notion with a short laugh, which Pierre copied, although much more loudly and prolonged.

Kyoji, however, found himself rather parched, mouth having gone dry at the prospect that he was going to play pretend with Pierre, who was a _prince_ , and Minori, who... who...

Who he had seemingly and unexpectedly and rather fervently fallen for.

And _hard_.

"Minori, cashier first. I wanna shop!"

The eldest member simply nodded, unabashed to have been dragged into a children's play exhibit. "It must be strange, considering you don't shop for yourself."

Their conversation carried them through the entrance and past Aihara, who eyed them with confusion. There was certainly no malice in her eyes, but it was not every day that two grown men and a teenager requested to partake in an exhibit designed for elementary school-aged kids.

Pierre instantly rushed to the side to collect a cart, and he sped off to the back, his smile making him appear every bit the child he was. Minori stationed himself behind the counter and pulled at the cash register filled with a few plastic dollars and the bar code scanner with a yellow button on the handle that beeped when pressed. Kyoji lagged behind Pierre, back bending uncomfortably to push the short shopping cart along.

He drove around to an aisle that had been untouched by Pierre and silently dropped five items into his cart. He didn't know how a simple smile from Minori had pulled him along into playing shopper; but at a small, subdued "Yahoo!" an aisle over - followed by the sound of a dozen items being dumped into Pierre's metal cart - Kyoji couldn't bring himself to stop.

Kyoji wheeled the cart back up the register, and Minori greeted him warmly.

"Kyoji, all you got was cake."

He took a double take, and sure enough, his cart was full of plastic pieces of cake (which, he mentally noted, was certainly not how you really bought cake - what, with one piece sitting out on a plate and another with the vague shape of teeth having already taken a bite out of another).

"Say, Kyoji. If you like cake, I hear there is a nice bakery shop in town. Would you care to go tonight?"

Kyoji glanced behind Minori, eyes landing on Pierre. The boy was shoveling box upon box of fake cereal into his cart, despite the sign mounted to the wall reading _"MAXIMUM OF FIVE ITEMS."_ The boy rounded a corner, but his head popped up from behind the low, child-sized aisles.

"Pierre wanted to visit the pizza shop in town for dinner," Koyji replied, dragging items out of his own cart (five, to be exact) and setting them on the counter.

Minori pulled the first one from the stack and scanned it with the bar code reader.

"Kyoji, I believe you misunderstand me. I intend for it to be just the two of us."

And then he presented his smile - the one that wasn't over done, but gentle and friendly and pushed at the corners of his eyes to pull up just enough so that his whole face was seemingly lit up with delight.

Kyoji's hand went limp, and his next item fell from his grasp back into his cart with a light _clang_.

"The two of us?" Kyoji echoed, voice hollow and low, as if struck by the idea that he would be having... not exactly dinner but -

"Yes, a date of sorts."

He moved on auto-pilot, pulling the remaining two items from his cart, mouth glued shut and tongue stuck to the top of his mouth. Minori scanned them before placing them into a brown paper bag. With all five items done, he lifted the merchandise onto the counter. Kyoji, his consciousness having been flung far from the grocery mart, reached for the bag in a half-lucid daze.

However, it was lifted up and out of his grasp; and at the sudden realization that he was grasping at air, Kyoji jolted.

Minori, bag in front of his face, lowered it with a childish glint in his eyes.

"What will be your method of payment?"

"Huh?" Kyoji stuttered out.

"For the groceries. How will you be paying?"

Kyoji fumbled, hands patting at his pockets for a wallet before realizing this was nothing but _pretend_.

"Hmm..." Minori began, shifting the bag to cradle it in one arm and rubbing at his chin with the other. "I suppose if you have no other form of payment, I will accept cake. That is to say, that you would go tonight, yes?"

Kyoji could feel the heat inflame his face. Something wickedly vile dropped into the pit of his stomach, and his mouth grew warm, a precursor to a disgusting mess of this morning's breakfast that he did _not_ want to see return right now.

He swallowed thickly, forcing the sensation down and unhinging his jaw from its locked state before he could muster up words.

"Minori-san, you're serious?"

He was surprised at his own voice. It was... certainly not empty of emotion. But maybe that similarity to nothing is what made him sound so hollowly forlorn.

But then Minori was handing the brown bag over the counter, smiling, and it was hard not to notice Kyoji's unpaid goods shaking within the older man's hold. Despite Minori's own fear now wide open on display, he continued his banter.

"Most definitely. I can't think of anything better right now than having cake with you, Kyoji."

Kyoji felt prone to combust. The heat encapsulating his face had reached an unbearable peak. It was comforting to know Minori was just as scared, but he could still muster up words and funny comebacks to this utterly _childish_ mess of a cake date, while Kyoji had been a silent, fumbling idiot the whole time.

"Kyoji, move, my turn!" Pierre bellowed suddenly, cart coming to an abrupt halt at the front of the register.

He grabbed the bag out of Minori's hand and then quickly pushed it into Kyoji's arms, excited for his own turn.

With that, Minori clapped his hands together, positively beaming.

"Payment approved."

And suddenly all Kyoji could focus on was Pierre shoveling item after item atop the counter - because he had certainly _not_ accepted a date from Minori. That was definitely not five items, that was at _least_ fifteen, and Pierre continued to scoop them onto the counter, unashamed that he had wiped the grocery of every last morsel it had, just as unashamed as Minori was to have considered Kyoji taking the bag a concession- an _affirmation_ \- to his proposal.

"Pierre, the sign said max five items. You know we have to put them all away, right?" Minori questioned, his soft laughter ringing in Kyoji's ears as he turned on his heels towards the exit. Kyoji excused himself past Aihara, hopefully in the direction of a restroom.

He needed to compose himself, for surely the smile threatening to pull up his lips was not something he could manage to explain to Pierre right then.

**Author's Note:**

> This started out as absolute crack but dissolved into me writing for two straight hours about three guys about whom I have extremely limited knowledge. I hope you have enjoyed reading! :)


End file.
